PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Henry Herrera
Phone: +1-301-801-0608
Email: info@menandboys.net
Growing Challenges Face Samoa’s Men and Boys
August 29, 2025 – The warning signs are impossible to ignore: Men and boys are facing growing disadvantages in schools, workplaces, and even life expectancy. Unless we act now, these gaps will harden into a national emergency.
Education:
The gender gap in education is widening. Persistence to the last grade of primary school is 89.86% for boys versus 97.10% for girls. Secondary enrollment follows the same pattern: 80.26% for boys compared to 88.57% for girls (1). Women now dominate tertiary education with a female-to-male ratio of 1.62, meaning women significantly outnumber men at the highest level of learning (2).
Child Labor:
Boys carry a heavier burden in child labor, with 14.3% engaged in work compared to 8.5% of girls—exposing them to greater risks and lost opportunities for education (3).
Health:
Men face serious health challenges. In 2023, male life expectancy was 69.86 years, nearly four years shorter than women at 73.66 (4). Adult mortality is higher as well—185.2 deaths per 1,000 men versus 144.1 for women (5).
Homicide:
Violent crime impacts men disproportionately, with a homicide rate of 11.43 per 100,000 compared to just 0.97 for women (6).
Suicide:
Mental health disparities are alarming. Men die by suicide at a rate of 17.0 per 100,000—more than twice the 7.0 rate for women (7)(8).
Workplace:
Workplace vulnerability remains a significant issue. In 2023, 44.9% of men were in vulnerable jobs compared to 36% of women. (9).
Conclusion:
Without decisive policies and community engagement, male disadvantage will continue to increase—impacting the nation’s progress.
The International Council for Men and Boys is a non-governmental organization that is working to celebrate the contributions of men to society and to end the 12 sex disparities that affect men and boys around the world. Achieving #GenderEqualityForMen will also benefit women. https://www.menandboys.net/
Links:
1.https://www.ceicdata.com/en/samoa/education-statistics/ws-secondary-education-teachers-female
3.https://www.sbs.gov.ws/documents/social/LFS/2022_SLFCLS_Report.pdf
4.https://www.statista.com/statistics/971111/life-expectancy-at-birth-in-samoa-by-gender/
5.https://genderdata.worldbank.org/en/indicator/sp-dyn-amrt?gender=male
7.https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.SUIC.FE.P5